Livermore to pay over $4 million for allegedly overcharging utility users

"LIVERMORE The city of Livermore will pay back over $4 million to utility customers after the City Council voted to settle a lawsuit that alleged officials illegally collected fees for services that didn't exist. In a closed-session meeting on Sept. 8, the City Council unanimously voted to settle the suit filed in October 2023 by the Alameda County Taxpayers' Association and Livermore resident Alan Heckman."

"The decision, which was announced during the council's later public session, includes a $1.56 million credit to the city's water utility, a $2.22 million payment to the sewer utility and $271,000 in legal fees. Heckman and the ACTA claimed the city collected charges for water and sewage services that residents never received. Customers should see reduced bills, with the settlement money going toward the overpayments previously made."

"The taxpayer association has been known to take local governments to court, including bringing an unsuccessful lawsuit Alameda County aiming to block Measure W, a controversial $1.8 billion bond voters narrowly approved in 2020 that officials are now using to combat the region's homelessness issues. In 2022, ACTA lost another lawsuit filed against the county to block Measure C, a 2020 half-cent sales tax that now provides $150 million annually to early education and affordable childcare programs to county residents."

Livermore will return over $4 million to utility customers after the City Council approved a settlement to a lawsuit alleging improper utility charges. The settlement provides a $1.56 million credit to the water utility, a $2.22 million payment to the sewer utility, and $271,000 in legal fees. Plaintiffs were the Alameda County Taxpayers' Association and resident Alan Heckman, who alleged about $2.5 million in annual overcharges from 2020 to 2023 and improper transfers to the general fund. The council voted in closed session on Sept. 8. Customers should see reduced bills applied to prior overpayments. Livermore serves about 90,000 people and about 9,500 water accounts within a 28-square-mile service area.

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